Sheffield, England

it's nice to use an english computer with an english keyboard and english text.

i finally had a chance to get to a post office yesterday. as far as blogging goes, for some reason the further we get into the tour the less i feel like writing. i suppose it's because i'm getting more tired, and hopefully not just becoming oblivious to more things around me, though i doubt that. there haven't been many chances to hop on a computer, or i haven't felt like fighting over getting a turn. and the pc's we've had available most places are slow and unstable, rendering them pretty unacceptable for uploading high-res photos (and i don't have the ability to resize photos). right now i'm lucky enough to be using an ibook, but my unfortunate lack of mac os knowledge seems to be prohibiting me from uploading pictures without first importing all of them into iphoto on this dude's computer. ...so bad luck with uploading pictures, though i've taken a lot. i'll get them all up when i get home, at least.



so the uk shows have been the best so far, i'd say, and there are 4 more. the response for dtn has been pretty insane. i love it. france, unfortunately, was kinda wack, aside from getting 2 cute french girls to say funny things in english (we got a video). but bordeaux was kinda sketchy. we got hassled by some dudes on the street pretty much as soon as we got there. it seemed pretty clear they were trying to pick a fight. they said "you're in our city. you need to show respect." we ignored them. the historic structures and the river were nice sights, but that's about all that struck me as enjoyable. we just didn't feel comfortable there. caen was kinda boring, at least the part we got to see. i know it sucks to say that. it was still cool to think 'hey, i'm in france.' it's like that everywhere we've been. at least i got a couple chances to use a bit of the french i remember from highschool. that was cool.

london rules. alan and i hopped on the tube and did a little shopping before the show. such an awesome city. sheffield seems cool too.

i could go on and on and on about italy. we saw most of the absolutely amazing ancient structures in rome. totally mind-blowing. i took what may be an insane amount of pictures there. florence... also gorgeous. and i got to eat pizza and pasta in italy. that's such an american thing to be excited about, but whatever.

i'm spent. and i can't seem to think of things to write about, seemingly because i've just seen too many new things. it's slightly overwhelming to tell about, but it will all come back to me. i've been trying read while sitting or standing by the merch each night. i finished the alchemist. nice.

later.

Vienna, at the venue... sort of

gotta make this quick. have 10 mins.

i didnt get to see much of vienna today because i had to sleep. but i should see a little more tomorrow morning. daniel took some pics of a cathedral and things they saw when they took a train into town earlier. but the buildings where the show is and where we are sleeping are pretty awesome anyway.

dutch people love bicycles. the netherlands was really pretty. meeting rise and fall was awesome, and they destroy. i was so excited when i found out i would get to see them twice. theyre such amazingly friendly dudes, for sounding so evil. weve been meeting some really nice people everywhere we go. the venues and promoters seem to be much more hospitable than in the u.s., i hate to say. but they put out a bunch of food and cook for us.

hopefully i can post some more pictures on flickr tomorrow morning if there is time. im having trouble thinking of things to explain. just all so fast, and im sleep deprived.

im excited about rome, the uk, and seeing francis at the end of the tour.

lesson of the day... austrians speak german with different slang.

Berlin, Internet Cafe

I accidently just deleted an entire post that I wrote, because I was guessing what the German buttons said, and I apparently guessed wrong. So now that I've cooled off I'm gonna try again. No more capital letters from now on... too annoying on this keyboard. and this second try isn't composed as well as the first, due to loss of mental energy.

we were surprised to find that the promoter had (at least some) hotels for us. lastnight we were pampered with separate beds, good showers, and a spread of breakfast items this morning. both clubs so far also have backstage areas with food. none of us had slept more than little naps in the van or on planes for 36+ hours. we were so wrecked. i didn't wake up once lastnight.

we arrived in berlin, where our driver and new friend, andre, picked us up at the airport. then we hung out in berlin for a bit while we picked up equipment. drove to leisnig for the first show, passing leipzig, which was exciting for me to see because the only person i've known in germany is from there. but everything has been exciting to see. we're back in berlin now for the second show. all this i'm typing is going to be out of order.

the show lastnight in leisnig blew my mind. everything is blowing my mind. i love it. but there was a bigger turnout than i would have imagined, kids went nuts, knew the words, and bought over 600 euros worth of merch. and it was cold. so cold. leisnig looks like a small town in the middle of farm fields and hills. wouldn't expect there to be a hardcore show there, but that's awesome. and there are power windmills all over the place on the drive there and back.

andre schooled me when i asked him if there was a speed limit on the highway we were driving on. apparently "the autobahn" is something that was created in the minds of americans. all of the highways are autobahns. there were tons of audis and bmw's flying past us. i wish i could drive here.

we drove past the berlin wall, though, regretfully, i didn't know that's what it was until it came up in conversation long after. still amazing. it's absolutly covered in graffiti. actually, you can't walk 10 feet in berlin without seeing graffiti... at least where we've been.

germany is beautiful, even the dirty parts of berlin. awesome. i love it.

unfortunately i can't post any pictures right now, because i can't get the camera to show up when connected to this computer. i'll try again at the next internet cafe.